A Princess in Charming

Chapter Five: Jax

Kristina's apartment was located in the seediest complex in Charming. Most of the units were occupied by street whores and low-level drug dealers. It was no fucking place for a young pregnant chick to be staying alone.

Jax killed the engine and turned to look at her. "Come on, we're getting your shit and you're staying with me," he told her gruffly.

Instead of moving to get out of the SUV, Kristina turned an icy glare on him. "If I wanted to be told what to do like I was a fucking child, I'd move back in with my father," she hissed.

So... Kristina knew the F-word... interesting. Jax couldn't keep the smirk off of his face.

"What?" She glared at him harder if that was possible.

"You're cute when you're pissed, babe." Before she had time to kill him, he continued, "Look, this place is fucking dangerous. I've got a spare room and I'm trying to be nice here."

"Does your mom have anything to do with this offer?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"She'll probably think so but no." Jax shook his head and told her honestly. Kristina had obviously picked up on his mom's intentions for them.

Kristina actually chuckled a bit before nodding, "Okay."

Gathering up Kristina's things didn't take long. It didn't appear as though she had brought much besides clothes with her when she had run away. They had only been in the apartment ten minutes and Jax was helping her gather the last of her things from her bedroom. As she stuffed some clothes into a purple duffel bag, he threw the odds and ends from her nightstand into a Hello Kitty bookbag that he felt dirty holding. When he found a small golden religious medal, he didn't throw it into the bag. He turned around and held it out to her. "Is this yours, babe?" He honestly wasn't sure. It looked more like it had been made for a guy.

"Yeah," Kristina took it from him. "It belonged to my brother, Michael." She pulled the gold chain over her head. "My dad gave him this when he legally adopted him. It's a St. Michael the Archangel medal. St. Michael is the leader of all angels and the army of God. He took on a whole new meaning for me after Michael was shot."

"Michael was shot?" Jax's eyebrows shot up. When she had told him that her brother had died young, he had assumed that it had been a natural death like Thomas' had been.

Kristina nodded and cast sad eyes towards the ugly blue shag carpet. "The bullet was meant for my dad but it hit Michael. You know my dad actually protected his flavor of the week instead of his own kid? He shielded her, not him."

"Your dad sounds like a real dick, babe." He was starting to see why she had run and he didn't blame her one fucking bit.

"That's why I couldn't let this baby be born in Port Charles." Kristina gasped and covered her mouth when she realized her slip of the tongue.

"Chill, sweetheart," he shook his head. "We already know who you are. No one new comes to Charming that we don't check out. People don't move to the end of the world for no reason."

"You know I'm Sonny Corinthos' kid?"

He nodded.

"Have you told him where I am?" she asked fearfully. "I'm sure daddy's put out one hell of a reward for information about me."

"There probably is a nice chunk of change being offered for you." He nodded and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his baggy jeans. If Happy's intel was right, and it always was, Corinthos was offering half a million dollars for information on his runaway daughter. "But, I like you and I don't need the cash. I'll tell you what I could use... a live-in nanny. Daycare's expensive and Abel's been spending way too much time with my mom. So, what do you say, babe? You help me and I help you." Kristina staying home with Abel also had the added benefit of getting her away from the clubhouse and his mom's fucking plans.